Need for Uniqueness

Tattooes, customized clothing, holding deviating opinions can all be indicative of the Need for Uniqueness (Snyder & Fromkin, 1977, 1980; for an overview see Schumpe & Erb, 2015). People want to be unique, to set themselves apart, and to be special. The NfU is a stable personality trait that differs among individuals.

Individuals high in the NfU tend to defend their opinions publicly and are more likely to act in a way not consistent with social conventions (Snyder & Fromkin, 1977; Imhoff & Erb, 2009). The NfU also plays an important role in the consumer context (Lynn & Snyder, 2002). For instance, consumers high in the NfU show a preference for customized consumer products, unusual shopping venues, and innovations (Lynn & Harris, 1997).

Until recently, there was no scale to assess the NfU in German speaking populations. Schumpe, Herzberg, and Erb (2015) developed and validated such a scale.